Harmala b. Kahil al-Asadi
| Murderer of Ali al-Asghar | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Harmala b. Kahil al-Asadi |
| Lineage | Banu Asad |
| Death | After al-Mukhtar uprising |
| Cause of Death | He was killed by al-Mukhtar |
| Era | Yazid b. Mu'awiyya, Umayyad Dynesty |
| Known for | Killing 'Abd Allah b. al-Husayn and 'Abd Allah b. al-Hasan |
| Activities | Participating in the Event of Karbala |
Ḥarmala b. Kāhil al-Asadī (Arabic: حرملة بن كاهل الأسدي) is one of the most hated figures among Shi'a due to his actions during the Event of Karbala. On the Day of 'Ashura' he was one of the archers of 'Umar b. Sa'd's army. He killed 'Abd Allah b. al-Husayn and 'Abd Allah b. al-Hasan and was involved in martyrdom of 'Abbas b. 'Ali. After al-Mukhtar's uprising, he was captured and killed by al-Mukhtar's order.
Biography
Harmala was from the tribe of Banu Asad. There is no report about his birth and life before the Event of 'Ashura' in historical sources. In some sources, his name is recorded as Harmala b. Kahin.[1] He was killed in al-Mukhtar's uprising.[2]
Day of Ashura'
On the Day of 'Ashura', Harmala was one of the archers of 'Umar b. Sa'd's army. He killed 'Abd Allah b. al-Husayn ('Ali al-Asghar), Imam al-Husayn's infant, on his father's arms.[3] It is also reported that he killed 'Abd Allah b. al-Hasan.[4] He was also involved in martyrdom of 'Abbas b. 'Ali[5] and carried his pure head to Kufa.[6] Ibn Athir mentioned him as the murderer of Abu Bakr b. al-Hasan.[7]
In Hadith
He was cursed in Ziyarah al-Nahiyya al-Muqaddasa.[8] Minhal b. 'Amr reported that after performing hajj, he went to Medina and visited Imam al-Sajjad (a). Asking about al-Mukhtar's uprising and the retribution of the killers of Karbala, Imam (a) asked him about Harmala; when Imam knew that he was alive, Imam (a) said:
- "O, God! Make his taste the heat of fire and iron."[9]
Likewise, after his visit of Imam al-Sajjad (a), Bishr b. Ghalib al-Asadi has reported Imam al-Sajjad (a) cursed Harmala.[10]
Death
Harmala was captured in al-Mukhtar's uprising. According to al-Mukhtar's order, his hands, and legs were cut, then burned in a fire.
When Minhal b. 'Amr returned from Medina to Kufa and saw the scenes of punishing and killing of Harmala, he informed al-Mukhtar about his visit with Imam al-Sajjad (s) and what Imam has said about Harmala. Having heard that al-Mukhtar performed Sajdat al-Shukr (prostration to thank God) as he saw that Imam's curse was accomplished by his hands.[11]
See Also
Notes
- ↑ Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk, vol. 5, p. 468; Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil fī l-tārīkh, vol. 4, p. 92.
- ↑ Ibn Nimā al-Ḥillī, Dhub al-naḍār, p. 121.
- ↑ Balādhurī, Jumal min ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 3, p. 201; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 45, p. 65; vol. 98, p. 269.
- ↑ Iṣfahānī, Maqātil al-ṭālibīyyīn, p. 93; Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk, vol. 5, p. 468.
- ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 3, p. 201.
- ↑ Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 3, p. 256.
- ↑ Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil fī l-tārīkh, vol. 4, p. 92.
- ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 45, p. 65.
- ↑ Irbilī, Kashf al-ghumma, vol. 2, p. 112; Ṭūsī, al-Amālī, p. 238-239; Ibn Nimā al-Ḥillī, Dhub al-naḍār, p. 121.
- ↑ Riyshahrī, Dānishnāmah-yi Imām Ḥusayn (a), vol. 9, p. 236; Ṭūsī, al-Amālī, p. 188; Ibn Nimā al-Ḥillī, Dhub al-naḍār, p. 121.
- ↑ Irbilī, Kashf al-ghumma, vol. 2, p. 112; Ṭūsī, al-Amālī, p. 238-239.
References
- Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣfahānī, ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn. Maqātil al-ṭālibīyyīn. Edited by Sayyid Aḥmad al-Ṣaqar. Beirut: Dār al-Maʿrifa, [n.d].
- Balādhurī, Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā al-. Jumal min ansāb al-ashrāf. Edited by Suhayl Zakār & Riyāḍ al-Ziriklī. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1417 AH.
- Ibn al-Athīr al-Jazarī, ʿAlī b. Abī l-Karam. Al-Kāmil fī l-tārīkh. Beirut: Dār Ṣādir, 1385 AH-1965.
- Ibn Nimā al-Ḥillī, Jaʿfar b. Muḥammad. Dhub al-naḍār fī sharḥ al-thār. Qom: Muʾassisa-yi Nashr-i Islāmī, 1416 AH.
- Irbilī, ʿAlī b. ʿĪsā al-. Kashf al-ghumma fī maʿrifat al-aʾimma. Tabriz: Maktabat Banī Hāshimī, 1381 AH.
- Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār. Beirut: Muʾassisa al-Wafaʾ, 1403 AH.
- Muḥammadī Riyshahrī, Muḥammad. Dānishnāmah-yi Imām Ḥusayn (a). Translated by Muḥammad Murādī. Qom: Dār al-Ḥadīth, 1388 Sh.
- Ṭabarī, Muḥammad b. Jarīr al-. Tārīkh al-umam wa l-mulūk. Edited by Muḥammad Abū l-Faḍl Ibrāhīm. Beirut: Dār al-Turāth, 1387 AH.
- Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-. Al-Amālī. Qom: Dār al-Thiqāfa, 1414 AH.